Nate Parker Addresses Rape Accusations in 60 Minutes Clip

Awards-season hopeful TheBirth of a Nation centers around the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Virginia in 1831, but almost all the discussion surrounding the film’s release centers on The Birth of a Nation’s producer, writer, director, and star, Nate Parker, who was acquitted of rape charges 17 years ago when he was a student at Penn State University. Parker has alternately answered questions and dodged questions and issued personal statements regarding his role in the alleged sexual assault, and now he is going on the record with Anderson Cooper to talk about it on 60 Minutes. In the preview clip (which you can watch here), Cooper asks Parker if he feels any guilt about the night in question, a night that eventually led to a woman accusing Parker and his then-roommate (and Birth of a Nation co-writer) Jean Celestin of raping her while she was intoxicated beyond the point of recollection. Parker responds by saying, “I don’t feel guilty,” though he adds that as a Christian he does feel morally compromised by having been in the situation at all. The woman involved in the incident committed suicide in 2012, and you can see the full interview with Parker this Sunday on CBS.